Announcing the Winners of the 2019 Digital Publishing Awards

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 4th annual Digital Publishing Awards, which were revealed at this evening’s Soiree. The DPA soiree saw Gold and Silver winners presented in 23 various categories, with Gold winners in individual categories each receiving a $500 cheque. Host Eternity Martis opened the soiree by reminding the attendees that the night was about celebrating every story nominated, as big as Mount Everest and as small as SugarBearHair vitamins, and all of the creators who made those stories possible.

GENERAL EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING AWARDS

The General Excellence awards were presented in three divisions: small, medium, and large.

In the small division, The Sprawl took Gold. Judges referred to this publication as refreshing and embracing the spirit of digital to convey an unwavering focus. They also cited the satisfying mobile experience and smart audio.

Maclean’s was the Gold winner in the medium division, judges noting that its video offerings and off-platform social media initiatives helped it stand out among the other contenders.

The large division Gold-winner was CBC News, which—according to the judging panel—displayed exemplary design and innovation in its special projects and multimedia offerings to engage its digital audience. Its digital content shows a deliberate process that complements its journalism.

LEADERSHIP AWARD & EMERGING EXCELLENCE AWARD

This year, women dominated both the Leadership Award and the Emerging Excellence category: Kathy Vey (TVO, Executive Producer of Digital) is the first woman to receive the award, and all three of the Emerging Excellence nominees were women.

Craig Silverman of Buzzfeed introduced Kathy Vey, describing her, and her work, as “the quiet force behind some of the most remarkable and ambitious data journalism and local journalism initiates in Canada over the past decade.”

Sofia Misenheimer of Art/iculation was the recipient of the prestigious Emerging Excellence award. When discussing the merits of the applicants, the jury had this to say of Sofia: “She is a driven individual who is only going to continue to make a positive impact through her work in the digital media landscape.”

WINNERS HIGHLIGHTS

This year, a number of first-time nominated publications won their first Gold and Silver awards, including Art/iculation in Emerging Excellence (Sofia Misenheimer), Magazine web 100 degrés (Marianne Boire, François Grenier, and Françoise Ruby)who won Gold for “Réimaginer nos aménagements,” and SooToday (David Helwig) who won Silver for “Bankruptcy protection for Sault’s main employer sparks fight over port.” The latter two wins took place in the Best News Coverage (Small Newsroom) category.

Air Canada enRoute’s “Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2018” is a four-time Best Digital Editorial Package nominee, this year winning Silver.

“In rural New Brunswick, a transgender woman charts a new path” won Gold in two categories: Best Online Video: Feature and Best Feature Article: Short. Congratulations to all of the creators who worked on the piece.

Paula Danaher, 44, began to transition as a transgender woman year and a half ago in rural New Brunswick.
Words by Lindsay Jones
Images made By Scott Munn

Digital storytellers from Hakai Magazine took home Gold in Best Science and Technology Storytelling (for “The Noose Beneath the Waves” by Sasha Chapman) and Silver in Best Arts & Culture Storytelling (for “The Oracle of Oyster River” by Brian Payton).

VICE swept the Best Online Video: Mini-Doc category: VICE Québec won Gold for “Souldia : à double tranchant” while VICE Canada took home Silver for “Fear and Loading: Meet the NRA’s Most Wanted Customer.”

Here’s the full list of publications that won Gold or Silver at the 2019 DPAs: